A tessellation is an image that repeats the same shapes over and over again to cover a plane with no overlap or gaps. This type of pattern was frequently employed by M.C. Escher who was fascinated by the symmetry involved in these designs. In 1993, Dr. Robert Fathauer created the following pattern that features points […]
What exactly are you looking at in this deceptive photo? Is it a family of tiny horses or are the table and chairs gigantic? The horses are, of course, normal size. It is an over-sized table and chairs that create confusion when viewing this scene from a distance. The subject hidden in the cowboy optical […]
A man’s face is hiding somewhere in this scene from an advertising puzzle card from 1880. Can you find it? The man’s face becomes easier to see when the image is rotated counterclockwise by ninety degrees. The face is located on the body of the horse.
From 1903 to 1905, the New York Herald ran a series of original comic strips called The Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo. This comic strip, created by cartoonist and illustrator Gustave Verbeek, consisted of a total of 6 drawn panels. After reading the 6 panels right-side-up, the entire comic could […]
Donald “Rusty” Rust is an American painter focusing primarily on wildlife scenes and portraits. Some of his works also feature illusionary elements involving hidden objects or other deceptive techniques. His work is featured in a number of prestigious collections including the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Philadelphia, PA. Rusty has […]
Jos de Mey was a Flemish-Belgian painter known for his paintings that frequently included impossible objects. In the painting below, three owls perch on a tower that would not be possible in the real world. Fortunately for us, we can escape the real world any time we want by diving into one of Jos de […]
The following photograph was captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It is a lava flow in Elysium Planitia on the planet Mars. Does it resemble anything? Do you see the head and trunk of an elephant? While it certainly is not proof of any life on Mars, it is an interesting natural illusion. Image courtesy […]
